mulready



M. F. M. MULREADY.

8 sheds-sheen 1.

(No Model.)

FURNAGE GRATB.

No. 555,788. Patented Mar. 5.1888.

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

M. F. M. MULREADY. FURNAGB GRATIS.

No. 555,788. Patented M58. 8, 1895.

J )L A ANDREW BGRANAM. PMOTOLITNU. WASHINGTUN. D.C

Rw .u w mb.. S muv e h S 3 Y D l EN. A .MR G UE MG M R M.u FP M (No Model.)

Patented Mar. 3, 1896..

771/, Jem,

rains artnr trucje.

FU RNACE-G RATE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 555,788, dated March 3, 1896.

Application filed July 5,1895. Serial No. 554,992. (No model.) Patented in Belgium July 26,1894,No.11,142.

T0 all whom t may concorre:

Beit known that LMrci-IAEL FITZ MIUHAEL MULREADY, a citizen of England, residing at at 47 Victoria Street, Vestminster, London, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Furnace-Grates, (for which I have obtained Letters Patentin Belgium, No. 115,525, dated May S, 1895, subject to principal patent, No. 11,142, of July 26, 1894,) of which the follow in gis a specification.

My invention relates to the construction of furnace grates with vertically-reciprocating bars actuated by rotating cams at their outer ends, such as described in my application, dated August 7, 1895, Serial No. 554,737.

My present improvements have for their object to afford a support and guide to the inner ends of the reciprocating bars and at the same time to insure that all the bars shall lie at about the same level when released by their actuating cams or tappets. For this purpose I provide beneath the inner end of the grate a rocking support for the inner ends of the bars, constructed and operating as I will describe with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 shows a longitudinal section of the furnace. Fig. 1a shows a front elevation. Fig. 2 shows an enlarged front view of the rocking support detached. Fig. 3 shows a plan of the same, and Fig. 4 a cross-section. Figs. 5, 6, and 7 show, respectively, a front view, plan, and section of a slightly-modified form of the support.

The bars A, which are arranged to rock on a fixed support B at a point nearer their outer than their inner ends, rest with their inner ends upon the shoulders C C2 projecting alternately on opposite sides of the shaft C, and so arranged that the shoulders C support, say, the first, third, and fifth bars, while the shoulders O2 support the intermediate bars. rlhe front end A of the bars project outside the furnace and are there acted upon by cams or tappets D on a revolving shaft D, the cams being so formed and arranged as to rapidly depress the outer end of every alternate bar and then to release the same, as described in my application dated August 7, 1895, Serial No. 554, 7 37 By such depression of the one set of bars-say those whose inner ends rest on the shoulders O-the said inner ends are raised off the said shoulders, and consequently the inner ends of the other set, which are free of the cams D/ and which bear upon the shoulders C2, will be free to descend by gravity, and in depressing the shoulders O2 will par tially rotate or rock the shaft O on its pinions C3, suitably carried in bearings arranged on the sides of the furnace-chamber. The other set of shoulders O' will consequentlybe raised so as to follow the iirstset as they rise. It will be obvious that the bearing on which the shaft C rocks may be otherwise arranged.

The construction of the rocking shaft C will be seen in the arrangement shown at Figs. 2, 3, and 4 and in the modified forms at Figs. 5, 6, and 7. These only differ from each other in that in the arrangement at Figs. 2 to 4 a flange or plate O4 is made to project up between the consecutive shoulders, which flanges serve as guides to the bars for keeping them laterally in position in their motion, while in the arrangement at Figs. 5? to 7 the shoulders are hollowed out, the bars being retained in position by resting with their rounded bottom surface in the hcllows, as indicated. The bars may also be held in position by passing through guides E provided at the front end.

It will be seen that at the middle posit-ion of the bars both sets will be practically at the same level, as the shoulders O' C2 will themselves be level, as shown on the drawings.

I sometimes iind it advisable to facilitate the bringing of the bars to their level position after they have been released by their tappets by providing below the shaft D a sec ond shaft F, having, first, a lever or tappetF extending underneath the whole of the eX- tensions A', and, secondly, at each end a tappet F2, on which act two diametrically-opposite tappets D2 at the ends of shaft D, so that after the one set of tappets D' have depressed and then released the corresponding set bars the shaft F will be roc-lied by the tappets D2 and F2, so as to cause the lever F to raise the depressed bars to the level position again. Although I have shown the rocking support O in combination with the mechanism for imparting the rocking :motion to the bars herein described, yet it is evident that such supports can be used in combination with any other convenient means for acting on the front ends of the bars, imparting a rockin g motion to the bars in such manner that contiguous bars are made to rock in contrary directions.

Having thus described the nature of my invention and the best means I know for carrying the saine into practical effect, I claim- In combination with furnace-bars that are rocked on supports nearer their outer than their inner ends by mechanism applied to their outer ends, a support for the inner ends of the bars consisting of a transverse shaft carried on suitable bearings, such shaft having` shoulders projecting alternately on opposite sides thereof on which the inner ends of the bars rest in such manner that while the first, third, and fifth bars rest on shoulders on the 

